We are the Claws of the Dragon
by liljimmyurine
Summary: A member of the Cursed Chapter, the Black Dragons, and his adventures after his strange affliction that is the bane, and blessing, of his Chapter
1. Default Chapter

We are the Claws of the Dragon

By: liljimmyurine

This came to me when I was reading _Chapter Approved 2004_ and how it talks about the Cursed Founding. Of the various cursed Chapters of Space Marines, the Black Dragons interest me greatly. Read to find out why I do.

Disclaimer: it's obvious I don't own any of this. I just took liberties with the imagined creations of people so nerdy they make me a friggin' rock star

We are the Dragon's Claws. My name is Tanthius, and I am both the elite and reviled of my Chapter. My obvious mutations make me superior in combat and hated by those that I protect.

It all began after I was a scout-novice; after the final implantation of the enhancements that would make me a true Space Marine when my skin began to itch. Just behind the elbows and in the middle of my forearms. A slight itch at first, but growing worse the rest of that week. When I went to the Apothecary to inform him of this; he seemed to take interest in my complaints instead of the derision I expected. Apothecary Ihram was very serious, but didn't tell me anything, and made me stay under observation in a monitored sleep-cell, instead of my community barracks I share with my new squad. I was by no means a novice anymore. I had faced battle for three years by that time as a Scout. However, I was still less than fifty years old; a child compared to Captain Melenaus, who was easily three hundred years old. To my great surprise, he came to visit the Medicae while I was there. Little did I know _I _was the reason he was there. I couldn't understand what he was saying to Apothecary Ihram, as I was in a drug-induced sleep for the immense pain that had developed out of the itching. I slipped in and out of a fever sleep that I thought no Marine could succumb to. I didn't know how long I was there, but three days later, I was awoken by intense agony in my elbows and forearms. My shouts of surprise at the sudden pain, and the loud 'thump-crash' that resounded when I fell off of my cot. When I looked at my arms; that's what really made me scream. My bones were poking out of the skin.

My first reasonable thought was _ohh… God-Emperor; compound fractures. How is that possible? _Until, that is, I realized that something else was happening. Then it hit me, like a Rhino going full speed; _Dragon's Claws_. After that, a deep calm and understanding that I was a mutant settled upon me. The blades were nothing as of now, barely even noticeable, but they would get longer and sharper, until I was a powerfully, naturally, armed as a Tyranid Hormagaunt. If I were lucky, I would avoid the crests on my forehead that afflicted a few of those in my situation. I was simply told by the Captain, " Welcome to the Dragon's Claws. Techmarine Lygus will see you tomorrow, and Apothecary Ihram will observe your blade growth until it stops. We have a new project intended for use, involving the Dragon's Claws, and you are the first of our new Claws, so, congratulations."


	2. Sergeant?

We are the Claws of the Dragon: Chapter 2

Hello, everybody! Sorry the first chapter was so short; writer's block hit me like a wigger with a baseball bat. These ' intro' chapters _will_ be fairly short, so bear with me.

Disclaimer: refer to page one. I'm too lazy to repeat what I say for legal documentation

It has been no more than a year since my mutations first made themselves known, and almost my entire training cadre, those that survived training and their role as a scout, had manifested the same mutations.

I still get chills when I think about how Matteus, Christopher, and Anthony moaned like animals as their bodies mutated out of control. Christopher had sprouted massive blades for a few fingers and a huge, scythe-like blade from his very forehead. Matteus and Anthony were in similar situations, and were too horrible to describe. The three were transferred to an Abominations squad; may the God-Emperor have mercy on their souls.

Ian and me were considered best friends, inseparable. Every moment we weren't fighting in His name, we were acting like our childish selves; the two foolish juveniles from Querlos Prime, a fairly productive hive world in the Segmentum Pacificus, Erronous sub-sector. We were picked up by the Black Dragons Company there to defend us from the Ork warband that had arrived. The battle was bloody, but short. However, the both of us had lost our parents in the battle for Garret Hive, our fathers and elder brothers part of the PDF, the rest of our families died cowering in one of the inadequate shelters, which were unused for years, decades, and were flimsy and brittle from age.

We were two of the miniscule number of survivors of that battle, and were to face far worse in our training to be Astartes. We miraculously survived, together, everything thrown at us. We began training and honing our mutated bodies to be even more efficient in battle than before. We had no idea what was in store for us and the other Claws.

One day, after nearly half a decade of training, we were brought before the Captain.

It was in a room we had never seen before. It looked like a cross between an Armory and a Medicae room, with the weaponry and all of the medical equipment in a sterile white room, thirty feet by maybe forty. When I noticed the entire armor-conversion system, I knew that this was the 'experiment' we were to participate in.

Fearing the worst, I simply went numb. It was all a blur afterwards, but we all ended up with a different experimental enhancement. They were truly amazing. Every blade protruding from our skins was sharpened into a killing edge and sheathed in adamantium. But I also received something else.

I was, after having my blades sheathed, led into an adjoining room that carried a magnificent set of power armor; clearly master-crafted, and superior to my current set of Imperator armor. I had no clue what was going on.

Seeing my uncomprehending looks, Captain Melenaus explained to me how the suit was designed to feed power into the blades on my arms, turning the metal sheathed around my blades into power weapons. " After all," he said, " we can't have our new Sergeant running around without something special, now could we?" he said with a surprisingly warm smile, for a warrior-monk anyway.

I was speechless. Sergeant? Me? I had had no ambition to be any more than a battle-brother when I received that rank, and was quite happy to serve the Emperor in such a way. Now I was a leader, charged with my friends and comrades as their commander. I was ecstatic, quite shocked that this was happening. Seeing this, Captain Melenaus grinned and handed my rank insignia to me.

" Welcome to the Dragon's Claws, Sergeant Tanthius".

And with those seven words, I was drawn into a path that would lead me against every enemy of Humanity. Orks and the Battle for Armageddon, Hive Fleet Kraken, the Necron Incursion into the Segmentum Pacificus, and the very journey of me and my squad into the Occularis Terribilis, the Eye of Terror, to fight Khârn the Betrayer himself.


End file.
